


The Wooden Horse

by adrift_me



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Friendship, Gen, Magic Revealed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-05-13
Packaged: 2018-03-30 08:48:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3930499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adrift_me/pseuds/adrift_me
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of Merlin and Will's friendship, born in magic and fun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wooden Horse

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this!
> 
> I wanted to go and explore the character of Will, which I think was a very strong one. I wanted to imagine what would his friendship with Merlin be like. This is my vision as follows.
> 
> Important: I know that Merlin's magic, bringing the horse to live, contradicts with the first season of the show, where he had troubles with animating a stone dog. But for the sake of the story... :)
> 
> And please. This is not slash, or pre-slash. This is friendship. The rest I'll leave to Merthur.

A small boy of eight years old is sitting next to his house, playing with a wooden horse toy.

“Neigh-neigh”, says Will and moves the horse around with his hand. He likes imagining that it is he, who rides the horse. He saw his father on horseback so many times and now all he wants is to become a knight, to fight against evil landlords and sorcerers. He even has a wooden sword, tucked in his belt, that his father made for him, before leaving for war.

Another boy is watching Will from the distance. He has raven black hair and deep blue eyes, too dark for a small child. His name is Merlin and Will knows he has no friends. His gaze is fixed on Will’s horse. As Will makes the horse jump over imaginary obstacles, Merlin applauses. Will glances at Merlin, who is smiling at him. He says nothing, but turns back to his toy. He heard of Merlin before. Heard rumours and stories, but never believed them. Although Will decided for himself long ago that it’s best to keep away from this strange lonely boy.

Will sees from the corner of his eye that Merlin is walking towards him clumsily, nearly tripping over nothing. Will’s hands tighten around the wooden toy as he listens to soft silent steps on the ground.

“Hi”, says Merlin with a friendly smile and stretches his hand out in greeting. Will looks at him but ignores the hand. He has no time for a village weirdo right now, he has a wooden horse to play with.

“Hello,” he says coldly. “I am busy.”

“I am sorry. Can I play with you?” asks Merlin, sitting on the ground next to Will. The boy clutches his horse and presses it to his chest.

“No. I want to play alone,” Will looks at Merlin as if he came to steal his toy. But Merlin is still smiling. And Will thinks that no harm can come from such a boy, who keeps smiling like a fool. After a minute’s consideration, Will adds, “Okay. But you will have to bring your own horse. Or another toy. Maybe you have a knight?”

Merlin’s smile fades and he looks back at his house.

“I don’t have any horses or knights. But I can help you make your game more interesting. Come with me”, he stands up and strolls towards the forest. Will hesitates. His mama told him many times not to go with strangers. But Merlin was no stranger, he lived in the same village. And yet there were those strange rumours about the boy.

In the end, Will’s curiosity overweights cautiousness and he follows Merlin into the forest, jumping over water buckets and sacks with crops, holding the toy horse firmly in his hand.

“Why are we going there and not staying in the village?” asks Will, catching up with Merlin, who looks around.

“Because no one must see what I am going to do,” simply says Merlin, looking around. “Mama doesn’t want anyone to know.”

Intrigued, Will starts looking around for anything special. But forest appears to be as usual as it has always been, green with summer foliage, pierced with cool winds and worried with birds’ singing. Finally the two boys come out on the clearing. There is a fallen log, where Merlin is heading. Will follows him, still trying to find the reason they came here.

“Give me your horse,” asks Merlin. Will shakes his head.

“What will you do to it?” he demands to know and Merlin only smiles happily and excitingly, his brows arched. Will gives in to the mystery of the village boy and slowly hands the wooden horse to Merlin. “Okay, you take it. But be careful.”

Merlin nods and holds the toy, looks at it from all sides, then puts on the ground.

And stares at it. Will is confused. Is it some kind of a joke, that Merlin decided to play on him? To lure into the forest and probably steal his wooden toy. Or to tell all village boys about Will The Fool, who goes in forests with other boys. But then suddenly Merlin’s eyes flash gold and the horse becomes alive. It is small, with long dark mane, it snorts and hoofs the ground. Will is enchanted to see his toy being alive, but then he realises what has happened. His eyes are big, round and frightened, and he points finger at Merlin accusingly.

“Magic!” he exclaims, “You are magical!”

Will stands up and backs away from the boy. Merlin too gets up from the log and raises both hands as if to show that he has nothing dangerous in them.

“I will do no harm, I promise,” he pleads with sad eyes. Will shakes his head yet again.

“Magic is evil!” he exclaims. “I...”

Without ending the sentence, Will sprints out of the forest, leaving Merlin alone, where a small chestnut horse stands.

 

***

 

Will stays at home the whole week. He is too frightened to tell his mother about what happened in the forest. But then he sits at the fire all evenings and thinks about Merlin. After all, this stupid village boy did him no harm. He just wanted to play. And as Will tried to be honest with himself, he liked the horse very much and wouldn’t mind seeing it alive again.

He found his wooden toy back on the window in the morning after the incident and guessed that it was Merlin, who placed it there. Too scared of touching the horse, Will hid it under the bed. But surely after a week the horse will do him no harm. As it didn’t that time at the forest clearing.

Will creeps under the bed and pulls out the toy. It is the same as ever. The boy looks at it from all angles and then places on the floor. Perhaps, this Merlin wasn’t bad after all. He was just… lonely.

The next morning Will walks across the village. He wants everyone to think that he is just strolling around, probably trying to avoid any job his mother would give him. But he is looking for Merlin, who is nowhere to be seen.

Will comes to his house and knocks on the door. A woman with a very kind face opens and looks down at him.

“Hello, how can I help you, my dear?” she asks with such warmth and kindness in her voice, that Will is even more reassured in Merlin’s goodness.

“Is Merlin at home?”

“Yes, my dear, he is,” says the woman with a tone of surprise. She calls out to the darkness deep in the house. “Merlin, there is someone to see you!”

Will hears something falling down, a dropped chair, and then the dark haired boy appears on the threshold. He looks at Will with surprise, but a brilliant grin spreads on his face.

“Do you wanna go and play?” asks Will silently and receives a vigorous nod in return.

 

***

 

The night has fallen on Ealdor. It scared off tweeting birds, covered with darkness the nearby forest. Will and Merlin are sitting at the fire they made (or, as Will has to admit, Merlin made with a flash of gold in his eyes). They warm their hands at fire and talk about the day they spent together, playing in the forest. Merlin showed Will so many magical tricks, all so kind and funny, that the little boy can’t believe stories about evil sorcerers anymore.

“How long have you had it?” he asks his new friend. Merlin looks into the fire and replies after a long pause.

“I always had. Mama says I was born like this.”

“And no one else knows your secret?” wonders Will. Merlin’s eyes are still fixed on burning firewood as he shakes his head.

“It must be hard,” mumbles Will.

“Yeah.”

“Why did you tell me?”

“You seemed as lonely as I was,” smiles Merlin, looking at his friend. Will smiles back. Nobody ever liked his company much, thus he was left to play alone. He never saw Merlin with other village children. Perhaps, it was natural that they called out for each other.

“We have to go back,” suggests Will half an hour later, when the stars are appearing on the dark sky canvas. Merlin nods and gives a quick glance at fire. The flames slowly fade to nothing, leaving some embers glow. Will smirks.

 

***

 

Will lies on the floor under the thin blanket and bites on his knuckles, trying to suppress the tears. Today his world has been destroyed. This evening a knight has appeared in Ealdor, bringing news about the dead in war. Will’s father is on the list.

Will is angry. He is only ten and has no father already. And he knows for sure it’s the nobles’ fault. They left him and his mother penniless, they insulted his father’s death.

“Hey”, Will suddenly hears a voice from above. He slowly sits up on the cold ground floor and looks around. Merlin’s face is in the window, worried and regretful.

“Sorry, Merlin, I’m in no mood today,” Will says and looks away, shaking up the pillow.

“I know what’s happened. Come on, let’s go. I’ll help you get over it,” suggests Merlin, swirling sparks round his finger and sending them towards Will. The boy ducks. A smile, that touches Will’s lips, cannot escape Merlin’s notice and he waves his hand, calling Will outside.

“Fine, I’m coming,” agrees Will and quickly puts his boots on.

Merlin is waiting outside with a bag over his shoulder. He gives his friend a soft understanding smile. As Will joins him, they slowly and carefully make their way towards their favourite spot near the forest. They don’t talk. Merlin is holding his hand stretched out, holding a handful of fire in his palm, lighting the way ahead. Will knows it’s not hot and it doesn’t hurt him.

“I am very sorry, Will. For your father and your family,” says Merlin as they sit down around the fire. Merlin brought some food to roast over the flames, and now they both are putting pieces of bread on sticks.

“Thank you, Merlin,” says Will gratefully, hovering the stick over the fire. “Perhaps, you were right to pull me out of bed and bring here. I thought I’ll go mad.”

“I understand you. But you will get over it, I know you. And you should remember that you always have me and your mom by your side,” smiles Merlin.

“Yeah, my mom and a sorcerer,” grins Will. Merlin squints.

“Hey, I asked you not to call me like this. I’m not a sorcerer. I just… have magic.”

“Right, because this is not the definition of a sorcerer,” chuckles Will. Merlin punches him in the shoulder, laughing.

This is a conversation they have every so often. Merlin hates it when he is called “sorcerer” and Will takes every opportunity to say so. They both know it’s true, but it doesn’t change anything. They are friends. And Will knows, that not all sorcerers have to be evil. Some are the purest and kindest of them all.

  
  


***

  
  


Two boys of fifteen are running across the golden field. Wind is blowing in their backs, helping them race, and they are laughing together at the taste of freedom. Soon enough they reach the edge of the forest, where one of the boys stops and bends down, catching his breath.

“That is enough, don’t you think?” he asks, making a deep breath and clutching his chest. The other boy laughs, but he too slows down and falls on the ground and stares up in the sky, his chest heaving.

“It’s like the wind was chasing us,” he says. Merlin smiles and looks away mischievously. “Oi you, was it your doing?”

Will laughs and throws a handful of autumn leaves at his friend. Merlin ducks and with a wave of a hand freezes the leaves in the air. They start swirling slowly and gracefully, and Will finds it difficult to look away. He has seen magic in many ways and many times, all of Merlin’s doing, but it has always made him stare in awe, like an eight-year-old himself used to.

“I’ll never get used to it,” says Will, putting an arm under his head. Merlin sits down next to him, playing with a grass stalk.

“It’s high time you did,” casually says Merlin, placing the grass stalk in his mouth. “We’ve been doing it for years now.”

“Correction, you were doing it for years now.”

“Yeah, you were just there, staring,” grins Merlin at Will, who shakes his head and chuckles. “Not that I mind it.”

Will thinks that he was very lucky to have found Merlin. They spent nearly every single day together since they met, playing, running around and exploring. Merlin helped him find wonderful hidden spots, where nature didn’t idle and created magical hideouts. They even managed to find an unknown part of the river, concealed in a rock cave, where rare fish could be caught.

“How is your work going?” asks Merlin, laying down on the ground next to Will, staring up at the bright afternoon sky.

“Not bad. You know, I’m learning fast,” replies Will. A few weeks ago he started working in a smithy, making nails and horseshoes. He often complains to Merlin that it is a dirty and boring job, but in truth he enjoys it. And he can’t wait to start making swords.

“I’m glad you are doing it,” says Merlin. “At least you have something to do and learn in your life.”

“And you? Are you going to do anything, apart from all your magical tricks, that are forbidden...” wonders Will with a sarcastic tone. Merlin exhales deeply as if he hasn’t noticed it.

“I don’t know. I thought… Perhaps, when I’m of age, I could go and see the world a bit.”

“Really?” says Will without any question in his tone. When Merlin replies nothing, Will adds, “I wouldn’t want you to go.”

Merlin laughs and then looks at his friend. “Sure, you wouldn’t. You would hire me at the smithy and make me do all the dirty job.”

“Certainly! But you can’t complain. You have magic.”

“I do,” simply says the boy and closes his eyes. They lay in silence, listening to the stream running and birds chirping among the trees.

“Promise me you won’t leave,” pleads Will silently, turning on his side and looking at Merlin. But his friend doesn’t look back.

“I am sorry, Will. I can’t make this promise,” he says with his eyes closed.

 

***

 

Will wipes tears off his dirty face. He stands at the anvil, angrily hitting a piece of metal with a massive hammer. It is hot inside the smithy, and Will’s face is covered with sweat mixed with tears.

“Will, listen...”

“No!” loudly says the young man, whacking with a hammer. Merlin makes a slow step back.

“Will, I am sorry. But I have to,” says the dark haired man. His face is sad and his eyes are red, as much as Will’s. He wants to try and make a step towards Will, but he keeps hitting the metal piece with a tool, sending sparks everywhere and making incredible noise. Merlin’s shoulders droop.

“Why do you have to go, hey? Isn’t it good as it is?”

“I don’t belong here! You know it as well as I do. But I will come back, I promise,” says Merlin.

“Will you now,” grumbles Will, lowering down the hammer and looking at his friend.

Today Merlin told him he is leaving for Camelot. A castle of forbidden magic, arrogant nobles and useless knights. At least this is how Camelot looks like in Will’s opinion and he is sure he is right.

“Of course I will come back! But I need to settle down. There is mother’s friend, Gaius, he is a physician. I can learn so much!” exclaims Merlin and his eyes sparkle with hope. “And here… You know there is nothing for me here.”

Will’s face softens.

“Okay. Fine, you go there. And look after yourself, you moron,” says Will and smiles at his friend. Merlin grins brilliantly back, happy with forgiveness. The two friends embrace each other and Will has to wipe dirty tears again.

“See you soon, Will,” silently says Merlin, letting go.

“Yeah. See you,” echoes Will.

**Author's Note:**

> I am not a native English speaker, so please, if you find any typos, mistakes or have any questions, contact me on [Tumblr](http://accio-toffy.tumblr.com/).


End file.
